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19 Oct 2012

the best and worst stationery companies

So, I've decided to review some sites I have bought from in the past and do a bit of naming and shaming, as well as praising!

I'll start with the bad first, as this way, you can see how good the great sites are!

I only have one site here and that is Tudor Office Supplies. I'm not even going to link to their website as they don't deserve the web traffic! They operate from a website and an eBay account, which gives them two chances to screw things over, I guess.

Anyway, this is speaking from personal experience. I recently bought an A5 Filofax hole punch from them. It was from eBay at a 'buy it now' price so the transaction is still covered by Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs). However, it wasn't in the stated condition ('new') as, those of you who own a Filofax hole punch will now understand: the black end bits were worn! There was a hole in one (the silver metal was visible under) and on the other end, there were scrapes.

Now, I already own a personal sized Filofax hole punch, but I have had it for over two years and the condition is nowhere near as bad as this 'new' A5 one I received! Obviously, I messaged them about it after receiving it (the hole punch mechanism was very stiff and I had to put my hole body weight on it to punch one sheet of paper - is this common? My personal one is actually quite good in comparison.) but it took them three days (after I filed a Paypal dispute) to respond. Coincidence? I think not.

So, I returned the hole punch and as per DSRs, I expected a full refund, including a reimbursement of the return postage I paid for the item. The full refund was recovered by Paypal as I sent the item by recorded delivery but Tudor Office Supplies are refusing to admit that the item was not as described! I even sent them photos to prove the condition as they say the hole punch works - well, yes if you're a body builder with massive arms - and they denied that the pictures showed anything!

Well, readers, here you are:

Now, I could probably have lived with these cosmetic flaws if the hole punch actually worked properly, but it didn't! And if this is the wear and tear from an allegedly 'new' Filofax hole punch, then the one I received from City Organiser (the aforementioned personal one) must have been absolutely pristine.

I have still yet to see a return postage refund and to be quite honest, I do not think I will. The service and communication I received was appalling and as they have clearly broken the law by not following DSRs, I took further action by contacting Trading Standards. Oh, the joys of not being employable until January - this spare time gives me enough time to fight on behalf of others who may not have been able to take further action against this 'company'.

You might say I am being pedantic about things, but I fight for what I believe is fair. And the way this company have treated myself and other unsatisfied customers really isn't fair. Poor communication? Poor customer service? Not following laws? Yeah, these are just to name a few - and I can vouch for all three.

Bottom line: Tudor Office Supplies are top-notch jokers when it comes to running a business. AVOID at all costs.

Staples would have made it onto my list if they fulfilled their promise of next working day delivery - but they are still pretty decent as I received my goods within two working days. Not too shabby.

The 'best' companies mentioned above make it onto that list for the following reasons:
- excellent prices - pretty much unbeatable on most products
- fast dispatch! Especially with City Organiser. They are super speedy and super friendly too if other reviews are anything to go by - always a bonus!
- excellent communication
- customer service is top notch.

'You might say I am being pedantic about things'... um, not at all. I would very much fight them for what is mine if I were in your shoes. I hope you receive what is rightfully yours. Thank you for the suggestions btw!

I don't think I will ever see the return postage refund to be quite honest. They are a joke of a company and they clearly break laws designed to protect consumers. I just hope that at least some potential customers read this post and then opt not to do business with them as being in my situation or one similar just is not fun x

I ordered paper from TOS for a Sunday School project. The Friday before I needed it (some two weeks after I ordered it) I got an email to say it was on back order and would be in stock in October ..... this was July. Crossed off my shopping list for good too.

A three month wait? That's convenient because to open a Paypal dispute, one must be within 60 days of the purchase date. This means they could quite easily rip you off. I have heard of a similar situation to yours (as in, having the item back in stock at a later date) - this is not how a company works! Keeping an inventory is surely one of the most important aspects of a company like this?! x

My worst would have to be Paperchase. Last time I ordered I decided I would never order from them online again. I order some items a week and a half before a 30th birthday, for which I was making special supplies. A week later I still hadn't received anything, no communication either. Long story short, there was a lot of emailing back and forth, the birthday was missed and I was unable to make the party supplies I had wanted to. I told them this and the response I got was a standard 'apologies, we'll send another parcel out.' They didn't even bother to read my email in which I explained the items would be of no use to me anymore, the party had been and gone. Not impressed, and not the first time I've had a run in with Paperchase.

Oh dear! I've ordered from Paperchase in the past and although it did take a week to arrive (I'm quite impatient!), it did arrive and intact. Sorry to hear that you've had a bad experience with them :( x

By contrast I had excellent service from Paperchase. I wanted to order some blank FF compatible paper, but it was no longer listed on the web, so I sent them a message. The range was fairly new and I had bought a pack in store not 2 weeks earlier.

Anyway, they called me back, and were able to source the paper I needed from their warehouse AND they sold it to be at less than £1 per pack of 50 sheets. The paper arrived 2 days later. I was impressed.

I ordered a filofax from TOS on eBay and I had no problems whatsoever.... quick delivery and the filofax was brand new as expected and in great shape :/ sorry to hear about you lot having problems with them, definitely makes me wary of ordering from them again though

You were quite lucky then ;) I think they are fine, provided there is nothing wrong with the item/they have it in stock - however, if you run into problems with them, that's where they really screw over their customers x

I ordered my vintage pink A5 Malden from Amazon & the seller was Tudor Supplies. Sadly it had faulty pen loops, but they were pretty good about the refund. I'm still chasing them for my return postage, but don't think I'm going to get it back now.

Let me know if you get anywhere! I sent them the pictures that I also posted within this blog post but they still said they couldn't see anything wrong with the hole punch aesthetically (seriously?!) so I don't think I will be seeing my refund anytime soon. Having already reported them to Trading Standards and having written this blog post, I hope I have put some potential buyers off as the hassle I've been through just isn't something I want anyone else going through too x

Amazing, I have finally had another reply & my refund is being processed, so please keep on at them! I sent them 3 copies of my proof of postage - 2 in the post & the final one I scanned in & attached to a message via the Amazon site. No apology for the time taken, but I'm just glad it's sorted :)

Oh wow! Thanks for letting me know. I'll message them again now :) I don't think I'll be successful though cos I sent them the pics that were in this post and they denied seeing any damage in them!! And they said the hole punch worked when they tested it out (funny, cos I couldn't punch one sheet as the mechanism was so stiff). Will try anyway :) x

This is EXACTLY what happened to me when I tried to return a very worn looking Aqua Finsbury(with lot of color rubbed off) to Filofax USA. They looked at my detailed digital photos and said nothing was wrong with it, but I could mail it back if I wanted to (at my expense) and they would look at it and send it back (also at my expense). They then offered me a 10% discount on a future purchase...like I'd ever buy anything from them again after that treatment. I've read stories to numerous to mention about the wonderful filofax service and how they just give you replacements if something is wrong with yours. Are you guys kidding? This is the WORST customer service I've encountered -- one of the things that ended my foray into Filofax and sent me back to Franklin Covey.

Wow, sorry to hear about your awful experience with Filofax USA :( That's a complete contrast to the customer service I, myself, and many others have received from Filofax UK even though they are part of the same name! Franklin Covey does sound like a tasty alternative but they are quite hard to track down here in the UK x

Thank you for this post and for fighting the consumer corner. The very best way to deal with bad and illegal service is to soread the word. I have an item from Tudor on my watch list.. I will buy from someone else now.